


The Fourth Tattoo

by Imaginatio



Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Bucky Barnes is a little shit, Canonical Character Death, Drinking, Gen, Idiots in Love, Kinda, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Captain America: The First Avenger, Tattoo Artist Steve Rogers, Tattoos, doesnt really belong anywhere timewhise, just a silly little fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-26 03:35:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20923508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imaginatio/pseuds/Imaginatio
Summary: Steve barely managed not to die of mortification as Bucky promptly stood, turned around, pulled down his pants and smirked at the judge as he wriggled his bare ass.Or: Steve has always been an artist. Bucky will always bean assholea comedian.





	The Fourth Tattoo

Steve didn't know when it started. Although, no, that's not right. It all started when Bucky decided to finally fucking kiss him after months of dancing around each other in the summer of '34. That's when it all started. What he doesn't know is, _how_ he managed to lose control over this whole goddamn situation. How _exactly_ he ended up on their couch, wasted out of his mind, writing the most ridiculous sentence ever written on Bucky's left ass check. With a tattoo gun. Just... _how?_

Despite his slight confusion he chuckled as Bucky groaned at the pain of a particularly long stroke.

Alright, maybe he had to clarify a few things before anyone could understand his newest Bucky related dilemma. Steve's health didn't allow him to maintain most jobs for longer than a few weeks. Everything he could do most year round was drawing, painting or sketching - and as it turned out tattooing as well. A few weeks ago, he had been walking home from art class through the snowy (read: muddy) Brooklyn streets and noticed a poster in the shop window of a tattooist he hadn't ever spotted before.

> Part time tattoo artist wanted.  
No prior experience required.  
Please ask for further information inside.

Steve had just lost his latest job – sorting packages at the post office – due to a nasty fever and stood a few minutes in front of the door. He hadn't ever handled a tattoo gun before. But it couldn't be that hard, could it? He swapped back his wet hair, checked his reflection in the window and went inside.

It really wasn't that hard. The only problem was, that they had him practice on himself at home for two weeks, before they would let him anywhere near costumers. Normally, Steve wouldn’t mind, but after the first time he tried (a simple line) he got a nasty infection. He was feverish again for days. It didn't get better the second time (another, smaller line) and Bucky wouldn't even allow a third try. So, after a long discussion – heated argument - they settled on Bucky as his guinea pig. Steve carefully drew a little star at his inner thigh, it looked a bit wonky, he thought, but it didn't stay for long anyways. He hadn't done it deep enough. Bucky made him promise to write Becca's name on his arm, as soon as he was practiced enough.

So a few weeks later, the day Steve got his first paycheck, the two of them decided to celebrate the occasion by going out. They ditched their double dates earlier than usual and continued drinking - and making out - on their couch at home. And then Bucky proposed the single, most ridiculous idea ever. Steve just wasn't sober enough to realize that at the time.

So yeah, he mostly did know how he ended up in this situation. Still, tomorrow, he would shout at Bucky _why_ he would let him do something this stupid, _why_ he persuaded Steve to write _that_, of all things. That they were screwed if anyone ever saw it.  
Bucky would just laugh and say, that nobody ever would get to see that tattoo except Steve, and somehow the older one would reassure Steve like only he could.

If Bucky groaned particularly loud as he touched the hard mattress Steve shoved him into that night, he doesn't acknowledge it in the last. Deep down he damn well knew that he deserved it, that jerk.

And if Steve fondly stroked over the sensitive lines later, after Bucky had already fallen asleep and smiled at the fond feeling the words awakened in him, nobody would ever know. He would deny it with his dying breath. Silently chuckling he gave Bucky a gentle pat right next to the black lines. The other one groaned and pulled Steve into a proper embrace as he settled down again. Yes, this would definitely come back to bite them in their asses. Or well, probably just Steve's. Just like always.

\---

There aren't many people who found out about that very embarrassing tattoo. At least Steve thought it was embarrassing. Bucky embraced it with all his soul. Steve lost count of how often Bucky made him blush by mentioning it in front of elderly ladies, innocent bystanders or later commanding officers. Nobody could figure out why exactly Captain Rogers glowed bright red whenever Sargent Barnes mentioned some tattoo. Most of them had black marks. And some of them were a lot worse than Barnes'. His sisters name, along the underside of his right arm. His serial number and name on the same shoulder. And a slightly silly Teddy bear under his right collar bone, which he got jokingly after the first comics reached them; along with that ridiculous Bucky bear. None of those tattoos should cause the reaction Rogers had, every time Barnes mentioned them, paired with that particular look.

The very first time someone actually saw the tattoo, was a surprisingly meager affair. Bucky got into a little accident a few months after getting it. Steve had calmed down about the whole situation and didn't start to panic every time someone as much as glanced at Bucky's backside, anymore. Which happened far too often for his liking.

Anyways. Bucky managed to somehow fall down a few feet too far as he helped a stuck crane untangle from some boxes - grazing a not exactly secured metal rod, that slashed right through his working pants and part of his upper thigh. Thankfully, it wasn't that big of an injury, but the young guy Bucky had helped, started to panic and wanted to help _immediately_. He shoved Bucky's pants down to look at the injury and did it just forcefully enough, that Bucky's underwear slid down a few inches as well - revealing the delicate lines along his ass.

Both of them froze in their actions. Bucky stopped swearing and the guy stopped panicking. A few seconds later the still bleeding one shoved his pants back up.

“You won't ever mention this to anybody. Never. Do you understand, Hendricks? You don't want to see what I will do, if you don't keep your mouth shut.”

The younger one just nodded slightly and kept his promise. He never spoke to a single soul about what he saw on that day. Well, decades later he told his wife, of course. And maybe his son too. But it wasn't as if James Barnes would ever come back from the dead and look at him with _that_ stare again, right? Right.

Bucky didn't tell Steve about that incident. He didn't want to worry the little guy, he was panicked enough with the fact that Bucky had managed to injure himself. The following days Bucky was treated as if he was lying on his death bed. Steve did everything he wanted, before he could even ask for it. No, he definitely wouldn't tell Steve anything.

\---

Peggy Carter always was a very perceptive person. She knew that Steve Rogers was a little sweet on her. But she also knew that he wouldn't go through with it. What exactly the reason for that was, well, she couldn’t really figure that out, at first. Not until she saw Steve blowing up an entire Hydra base single-handedly, just to save one person. Well, actually he saved hundreds of people, but he really did it, because of one James Buchanan Barnes.

She had, of course, noticed that Steve wasn’t really happy in his role as a circus monkey in a spandex suit. And even after he finally managed to get to the front lines, his true source of happiness laid in Sargent Barnes. He looked at him like he hung the moon. Like he used to look at Peggy, only with more intensity. With more passion.

Peggy was very perceptive. So she really wasn't that surprised, when she trudged through the trees to the river, looking for a very late James B. Barnes and caught mentioned Sargent while towelling off. Steve was still in the freezing cold water a few feet away. But Barnes was bend over, drying off his feet, so Peggy really couldn’t be blamed for immediately spotting the black ink. Her eyebrows nearly disappeared beneath her hairline.

“You really shouldn't display such things this openly, Sargent. Someone might get the wrong ideas.”

She suppressed a smirk at hearing Steve's shocked gasp at her declaration.

“Oh my god, Agent Carter- Peggy, I-”

Barnes just turned around smirking, also raising his left brow. “And what would these wrong ideas be, Agent Carter?”

“That your loyalty does not entirely belong to the American Army, of course, Sargent.” She grinned slightly.

Her opposite chuckled. “No worries. My body and soul are under Uncle Sam's command until the day I die. Or until the war ends, whatever happens first. It's just my ass – excuse my French - that solely belongs to Stevie.”

Peggy nearly failed to stop herself from chuckling. “That's perfectly fine by me, Barnes. But nonetheless, you are needed at the command tent in five. Make it quick.” Grinning she nodded at a glowing red Steve, still standing in the ice-cold river.

“Yes, Ma'am,” the now dry one said, accompanied by a half performed Salute, before starting to pull up his pants.

She didn't fight her laugh as she heard Steve's incredulous shouting, slowly making her way back through the bushes to the campsite.

\---

The next ones to find out were, much to Steve's continued suffering, the Howling Commandos.  
And believe them, Dugan, Jones, Falsworth, Morita and Dernier – every single one of them - would give their left arm to go back to times, when they didn't know what Bucky's fourth tattoo said. On bad days their left leg as well.

It was a slow day at their camp. Their last mission pretty successful. The next one still a few weeks away. Everything they had to do, was to wait for information and slowly make their way a few miles south.

They were starting to crawl out of their skin.

So they decided to get Barnes for some extra target training (indiscreetly and quickly, as long as Cap was scouting the area, so he wouldn't look at them with his I-Am-Disappointed-At-You-And-So-Is-The-Rest-Of-America stare) and stepped into Cap and Barns' shared room in the abandoned building they had found shelter in. Right that second the dark haired man shoved down his underwear, baring his backside for all the world to see. He hadn't heard them, so he didn't rush to put on his pants for the day. Gabe and Dumdum had frozen at the sight before them. Falsworth, Jim and Dernier came in after and pressed themselves in front of the two - which would later become Jim's often declared Worst Decision Of His Entire Life - to see what was so interesting. They froze as well.

They had, of course, known for a while, that the two of them were fucking. Hard not to, with how close they lived together and the way Bucky and Steve just couldn't keep their fingers off each other, after thinking they wouldn't see the other ever again. It was a shock at first, and the mood at the camp was a little weird for a couple of days, but after some time all of them got their shit together and just stayed silent about the whole situation. With a few jokes on especially Steve's behalf thrown in between, of course.

But this. This was a whole different surprise.

After a few seconds Bucky finally turned around and startled as he saw them. He was about to make a dirty joke, Jim could tell, as he realized what their frozen stares meant.

“Shit, dammit. You are not allowed to talk about this ever in your entire life.” He made a surprisingly fierce step forward, considering he was still naked waist down. “Especially not in front of Steve, do you understand? He will kill us all.”

The five of them could only nod as they hastily took their retreat out of the room, forgetting completely why they had walked into there in the first place.

They all swore never to mention just experienced ever again. They made a blood pact. Their failure laid in not including Barnes in said pact. It was The Second Mistake.

After a few weeks, during which Barnes still wouldn't stop making comments about his tattoo, and even went so far as smirking at each of them while doing so, Cap eventually caught on.

He very nearly had a panic attack. (“Oh my god, you showed them!” “No, no, I didn't Stevie, I swear-” They barely could make out Barnes explanation between Rogers mortified screeching and Barnes own hardly contained laughter.)

Training that day was not a pleasant time for any of them. Oh no.

And Barnes still wouldn't shut up about it. But, eventually, the other Howling Commandos felt secure enough and would join him in his teasing. In front of other soldiers, Officers or Agent Carter – who, weirdly, seemed oddly amused at the offhand comments. Cap couldn't find a save place, where they wouldn't manage to make him blush like a schoolgirl.

This was The Third Worst Decision in Jim's entire life. The others could only agree.

Because after a few weeks, Steve turned the whole game around. Not in public, obviously, but in private. And back then your privacy wasn't yours, it was the shared privacy of every soldier in your squad. So, they all had to suffer together. Everyone but Bucky, that little shit, he got the best screws of his life out of that situation. Gabe was sure that he would never be able to have sex ever again. He would only be able to hear Barnes moans and Rogers commentaries through all of it, he was sure.

Steve had stopped blushing at Bucky comments. He started smirking back.

The commandos just groaned every time it happened and stayed away from their tents, rooms or wherever they were staying at that night for as long as possible.

\---

It wasn't Steve's first thought after waking up. But after he somewhat accepted waking up in the next _century_ and acclimated to the many inventions and improvements he couldn't help but wonder. Had tattoos also improved? Enough that they would stay on him longer, maybe even forever?

The two sets of numbers healed in just under three hours. Shined brightly for about two days. And were completely faded in just as many weeks.

They stayed just long enough for Stark to notice them. “What are these supposed to represent, Capsicle? The first and the second time you got a decent meal back in the day?”

“Something like that.” Steve shrugged, smiling sadly.

It was not like he needed the dates written down to remember. He would never forget the best and the worst day of his live. After all they were both connected to Bucky.

And he would never forget anything about Bucky.

\---

The first time Steve saw Bucky out of his combat gear again, he was wearing hospital clothes. Steve didn't actively search for the familiar tattoos along his right arm, but their absence hit him right where it hurt anyways. He didn't even want to think about That Tattoo, just started to talk about all and everything instead. It just hurt too much.

The first time they talked about Bucky's tattoos, he didn't really remember anything about them. So, Steve had to tell him what they looked like, instead of Bucky sharing what exactly happened to them. That night Steve could hear him scream through the thick walls of the Shield medical compound. He didn't ask about the tattoos again.

(Weeks later Bucky told him about razor blades, Bunsen burners and slowly healing scars that he couldn't explain himself for such a long time. Until now, really. That night he cried silently as Steve held him in his arms.)

The first time the two of them slept in the same bed together again, away from all seeing security cameras, save in Steve's apartment, Bucky told him about his fourth tattoo. How they found it only after he was already broken. After he didn't even know that he even had it. After he didn't know what it meant.

(They tried to remove it just like the others. But the soldier wouldn't let them. He fought and screamed and killed everything in his wake. At some point they decided to just let him be. He was even more compliant afterward, grateful for their mercy.

That night Steve was the one who cried as Bucky held him close.

“You know I always wanted to leave my mark on you, too. But back then it only would have made you sick. And now it wouldn't stick for long anyways.”

Steve pressed himself even closer against Bucky's bare, scarred collarbone.)

\---

Steve knew that Peggy and the Commandos knew about the tattoo. At some point long after the whole Winter Soldier Drama, when they finally settled into the 21. Century, Bucky would even tell him about the young dock worker he scared the shit out of back in 1937. Steve would scold him half heartedly, before the two of them collapsed giggling onto their bed.

He knew about those people. And he knew that a few people at Hydra knew, too. But he could only ever suspect about Natasha. Bucky never told him outright and Steve didn't want to ask. Same with Nat. But it wasn't really that important anyways.

_(The soldier stopped their training after she managed to throw and keep him down for the first time._  
_“Well done, little spider.” He whispered._<  
_The girl nearly grinned at him as she answered just as silently, hoping that their handlers couldn't hear them._  
_“Thank you, Yasha.”_

__

_Later they stood next to each other and while changing out of their fighting gear, she noticed dark lines._  
_“What does that mean.” The Soldier looked down at her little face with his unwavering stare._  
_“I don't know.” That was the last time they saw each other, and the last time the soldier would remember the little girl for a long time.)_

\---

Bucky groaned. Again.

“Is this really necessary? I mean, I already got pardoned. They know I am me, from Hydras protocols alone, why do we have to do this?” He leaned against Steve in the backseat as he continued his ongoing rant.

“Don't question the mysterious ways of the government, Barnes, you might not like what you find at the end of the tunnel.” Stark interrupted from the driver seat.

Bruce turned around in the passenger seat. “They just have to confirm it is really you, so they can give you access to your bank accounts from back in the day. It shouldn't take longer than fifteen minutes.”

“If it really is such an easy task, then why exactly do we need all the Avengers, with the exception of Thor, to complete it?” The long haired one questioned sulky, still cuddling close to Steve.

“Because they need Natasha to confirm that it was you whom she met during staying with the red room.”

Clint's voice crackled over the radio, obviously patched through by Jarvis. _“And Tony and I just came along because we would be bored on our own back at the tower. Bruce is here, because Tony promised to drive by Starbucks on our way there.“_

“Exactly, and we are noisy. I'd never give up the chance to find out exactly how much interest the two of you managed to scrape together over the course of 70 years.”

_“Yeah, same here.”_ The radio spat out again just as Natasha overtook them with her black Lamborghini, Clint pointing at himself in the passenger seat.

“Alright.” Bucky murmured adorably into Steve's shoulder. And Steve wouldn't have been grinning if he had only known what horrifying incident lied in his imminent future.

At first the whole thing went as smoothly as one could hope. Bucky's psychologists confirmed that he wasn't completely insane. His medics confirmed he was in excellent health. Steve confirmed Bucky was Bucky. Natasha confirmed Bucky was Bucky. Clint sat at the far end of the half circle and played with his phone. Bruce sat bored out of his mind, absently staring into his coffee next to him. And Stark slurped obnoxiously at his straw every three minutes or so.

Everything went perfectly fine until some stupid intern mentioned that they needed some kind of physical record. Steve didn't use the word hate light heartedly, but after that day this particular intern definitely was on the official Captain-America-Dislikes-You-List. Even Judge Hendricks seemed fairly annoyed by his comment and he appeared like an incredibly patient guy throughout the 30 minutes they were already sitting in the way too overheated room.

The problem was, that they had nothing from Bucky back in the day. No DNA samples, no finger prints, no nothing. And even if Shield had any of that information stored in some cupboard somewhere, it would take weeks if not months to get clearance for them. Steve just wanted to get this over with as soon as humanly possible. So, Bucky hat an amazing idea. Amazing, as in the worst anyone could ever imagine.

“Alright, if it is really so important to identify me, them why don't we just use my tattoos.” Bucky said nonchalantly and slightly grinned at Steve who sat right next to him. Steve froze. He opened his mouth, but couldn’t say anything.

“I was under the impression, Mister Barnes, that over the course of Hydras... treatment and through your slightly dampened version of the Super Soldier Serum all of your documented tattoos disappeared.”

Steve's mouth was still open. Bucky couldn't mean what Steve thought he meant.

Bucky smirked now openly as he answered the question. “Yeah, all of my documented tattoos aren't visible anymore. They were all in very obvious positions, Hydra didn't want anyone to identity me, because of some stupid tattoos. So they removed them – forcefully - and the serum did the rest. But there is another tattoo an a pretty hidden position, which they didn't bother to remove. The serum didn't do much except letting it fade a bit. It's still perfectly readable.”

Bucky _definitely_ meant what Steve thought he meant.

“Well if that's so, Mister Barnes, then show us, please.” The judge suddenly grinned a weirdly amused grin.

Steve swallowed before he sprang out of his chair and shouted: “No!”

The whole room stared at him incredulous. Bucky didn't even break his smirk, that complete fucking lunatic.

“No, we can't- there has to be another-”

“Captain Rogers.” Hendricks interrupted. “This is an easy way to confirm Mister Barnes identity, I really don't see the problem with this. Let us just go on with it. I believe all of us want to get this matter behind us as soon as possible.”

Steve swallowed again and thought hard. This could not happen. “But the tattoo doesn't confirm anything. As mentioned, it isn't a documented tattoo, so how would anyone know that James Barnes had it?”

“Well I assumed that you, as his best friend since childhood, would know about this tattoo and that you could tell us first what it is. I will accept this as proof for official documentation. Do any of the present parties not agree with this way of documentation?” He had addressed the room at large with his last sentence and glared at the intern who almost choked on air as he hastily shut his mouth.

Oh god. They would Steve make say it. He glared at Bucky. Bucky would actually make him say it. Out loud. In front of all these people.

Bucky stretched himself in his chair, suddenly not even bothered by the heat anymore. “Yes, I can confirm that Stevie knows what the tattoo says. In fact, he even wrote it himself.”

“Excellent, Captain Rogers. For the record, would you please confirm your employment as an tattooist starting during, let me see, during 1937. And the fact that you wrote Mister Barnes tattoo yourself, as well as describe the appearance of said tattoo.”

Steve sat back down defeated. He shot a last glance at Bucky, mouthed something that looked suspiciously like _“You fucker”_ and struggled to meet the judge's eyes as he answered. “Yes, I hereby confirm my employment as a tattoo artist.” He swallowed and stared at the room filled with people. Bucky's therapists and medical staff. Government officials. Tony, Natasha, Bruce and Clint. He forced his eyes to stay open.

“Bucky Barnes has a tattoo on his right butt cheek, written in cursive, that says: _“Property of Steven G. Rogers.”_

He barely managed not to die of mortification as Bucky promptly stood, turned around, pulled down his pants and smirked at the judge as he wriggled his bare ass. Hendricks just continued to look unsurprised for some unfathomable reason.

The only noises that filled the room for the next minute were Stark chocking on his straw, Clint hardly containing his laughter and Steve's chair screeching as he slowly slid down to avoid anyone’s stares. And of course, Bucky's fly as he _finally_ decided to pull up his pants again.

Yeah, no, he really didn't know how he got himself into these situations. All he knew was, that they were almost always entirely Bucky's fault.

Unconsciously he brushed over the three rapidly fading initials covering his heart. Still, he wouldn't have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a silly Idea I had a few months ago and decided to post. Hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> If you find any mistakes spelling or grammar wise tell me, I will correct them - english is not my first language - thx!
> 
> Also I do not know if they actually would have to confirm Buckys identity, I just made up some bullshit reason so he could pull down his pants in a room full of government officials :D
> 
> Thank you for reading, maybe even for giving Kudos and I wish you a nice day!


End file.
